Not everything is different. Two-time all-American A’ja Wilson scored 16 points and had 10 rebounds in just 14 minutes.

Penn State transfer Lindsey Spann, the Lady Lions’ leading scorer a year ago, added 16 points of her own for a team that had three players in the top 10 picks of this year’s WNBA draft.

The party started before Friday’s warmups. The SEC championship rings were passed out and confetti poured down as the title banner dropped.

“We threw the confetti in so they could get a good sense of what we felt in Dallas,” said Staley, whose Gamecocks beat Mississippi State 67-55 to win the school and her first national title.

The party continued after the tip. Alabama State’s Amber Hunt hit a 3 to put the Lady Hornets (0-1) up 3-2. South Carolina would score the next 23 points. The Gamecocks also ended the first half with another 23-0 run.

The 68-point margin was the second-largest win at South Carolina for Staley.

The Gamecocks forced 29 turnovers and held Alabama State to 20 percent shooting.

Virginia kept things close for a while, tying the game at 18 midway through the second quarter. But Mississippi State methodically pulled away from that point, pushing ahead 33-23 at halftime and 54-37 after the third quarter.

It was an emotional night for Mississippi State, which raised its national finalist banner to the Humphrey Coliseum rafters during a pregame ceremony. The Bulldogs made the NCAA Tournament Final Four for the first time in school history last year and went on to upset No. 1 UConn in the semifinals before losing to South Carolina in the national championship game.

Virginia was led by Dominique Toussaint, who scored 17 points. The Cavaliers had 23 turnovers.

Raigyne (Moncrief) Louis — who scored LSU’s last seven points — scored five straight points, the last three from the foul line, to pull the Tigers within 55-53 with 1:13 to play. But LSU missed its last three shots in the final minute while the Bulls were making 4 of 6 free throws and Jespersen drove through traffic for a layup.

South Florida made 14 of 16 free throws in the second half, including all 10 in the third quarter, to overcome 27 percent shooting after the break, which included going 1 of 11 behind the 3-point line.

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